Glasses tracking system
By setting up a sound acquisition module and a voiceprint recognition server in the glasses, only prompt sounds are issued when needed, which solves the problem of excessive weight in the existing glasses tracking system and improves the convenience of searching for users with poor vision.
Patent Information
- Application Number
- CN202210836793.5
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Patents(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Filing Date
- 2022-07-15
- Publication Date
- 2024-12-17
- Estimated Expiration
- 2042-07-15
AI Technical Summary
In order to facilitate searching, a variety of devices have been set up in the existing glasses tracking system, which leads to an increase in the weight of the glasses, which is not conducive to long-term wear by users with poor vision.
A glasses tracking system is designed, and only a prompt module, a first communication module and a battery module are set up in the glasses. The sound data is collected through the sound acquisition module and sent to the voiceprint recognition server for identification. After the recognition is successful, a prompt sound is issued through the prompt module. , help users quickly find the location of their glasses.
The weight of glasses is reduced, the convenience of users with poor vision is improved when looking for glasses, and the problem of excessive weight of glasses in the prior art is solved.
Smart Images

Figure CN115171698B_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] The embodiments of the present invention relate to the field of glasses technology, and in particular to a glasses tracking system. Background Art
[0002] As people's living standards improve, electronic products emerge in an endless stream, such as smartphones, tablets, computers, and gaming devices. At the same time, electronic products also bring various effects to users' eyes, causing users' vision to gradually weaken. In a family, both young and old may wear glasses. Usually, users will take off their glasses after wearing them for a long time or before going to bed and put them somewhere else. When they need to find their glasses, they have to search everywhere, which brings a lot of inconvenience to users with poor eyesight.
[0003] In the prior art, GPS and vibrators are generally set in the glasses so that users can find the glasses through location positioning and vibration sound.
[0004] The inventor has found that in the prior art, in order to facilitate searching, a variety of devices are provided on the glasses, which makes the glasses heavier and is not conducive to long-term wearing by users with poor eyesight. Summary of the invention
[0005] The present invention provides a glasses tracking system to solve the technical problem that in the prior art, multiple devices are set on glasses for easy searching, resulting in the glasses being relatively heavy and not conducive to long-term wearing by users with poor eyesight.
[0006] An embodiment of the present invention provides a glasses tracking system, including glasses, a sound collection module and a voiceprint recognition server, wherein the glasses include a prompt module, a first communication module and a battery module, wherein the prompt module and the first communication module are both connected to the battery module, and the prompt module is connected to the first communication module; the glasses are connected to the voiceprint recognition server via the first communication module, and the sound collection module is connected to the voiceprint recognition server;
[0007] A sound collection module is used to collect sound data and send the collected sound data to the voiceprint recognition server;
[0008] The voiceprint recognition server is used to identify the connection information of the sound data according to the pre-trained voiceprint recognition model, and after successful recognition, send a prompt instruction to the prompt module through the corresponding first communication module according to the identified connection information, the voiceprint recognition model is obtained by training the preset training data, the data content of each preset training data is the glasses search sound corresponding to the glasses user, and the classification label is the connection information of the corresponding first communication module;
[0009] The prompt module is used to issue a prompt sound after receiving a prompt instruction.
[0010] In the above-mentioned glasses tracking system, when it is necessary to find glasses, it is only necessary to collect the glasses search sound through the sound collection module, and then identify the corresponding connection information through the voiceprint recognition server, and then send a prompt instruction to the prompt module through the corresponding first communication module, so that the user's corresponding glasses can emit a prompt sound, so that the user can quickly track the location of the glasses. The present application only needs to set the prompt module, the first communication module and the battery module in the glasses, which reduces the weight of the glasses, thereby solving the technical problem that the prior art sets a variety of devices on the glasses for easy search, resulting in a relatively large weight of the glasses, which is not conducive to long-term wear by users with poor eyesight. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0011] Figure 1 A structural schematic diagram of a glasses tracking system provided by an embodiment of the present invention;
[0012] Figure 2 Another structural schematic diagram of a glasses tracking system provided by an embodiment of the present invention;
[0013] Figure 3 A schematic diagram of the structure of glasses provided by an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0014] The present invention will be further described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and embodiments. It is to be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are used to explain the present invention, rather than to limit the present invention. It should also be noted that, for ease of description, only the parts related to the present invention, rather than all structures, are shown in the accompanying drawings.
[0015] It should be noted that due to space limitations, this application description does not list all optional implementation methods. After reading this application description, those skilled in the art should be able to understand that as long as the technical features do not contradict each other, any combination of technical features can constitute an optional implementation method.
[0016] The following is a detailed description of the various embodiments of the present invention.
[0017] Figure 1 FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a glasses tracking system provided by an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 1As shown, the glasses tracking system includes glasses 10, a sound collection module 30 and a voiceprint recognition server 20. The glasses 10 include a prompt module 12, a first communication module 11 and a battery module 13. The prompt module 12 and the first communication module 11 are both connected to the battery module 13, and the prompt module 12 is connected to the first communication module 11. The glasses 10 are connected to the voiceprint recognition server 20 through the first communication module 11, and the sound collection module 30 is connected to the voiceprint recognition server 20. The sound collection module 30 is used to collect sound data and send the collected sound data to the voiceprint recognition server 20. The voiceprint recognition server 20 is used to identify the connection information of the sound data according to the pre-trained voiceprint recognition model, and after successful identification, according to the identified connection information, send a prompt instruction to the prompt module 12 through the corresponding first communication module 11. The voiceprint recognition model is obtained by training preset training data, and the data content of each preset training data is the glasses search sound corresponding to the glasses user, and the classification label is the connection information corresponding to the first communication module 11. The prompt module 12 is used to send a prompt sound after receiving the prompt instruction.
[0018] Normally, users will always wear glasses, and sometimes they may take off their glasses when they return to the room, but they cannot find their glasses when they need to wear them. In this embodiment, a first communication module 11, a prompt module 12 and a battery module 13 are provided in the glasses 10, and a sound collection module 30 is connected to a voiceprint recognition server 20. Since the voiceprint recognition server 20 is provided in a network that can cover several home users, all routing devices in the home can access the network. Therefore, when the user connects the corresponding glasses 10 to the network associated with the routing device in the home through the first communication module 11, the network can be accessed, so that the voiceprint recognition server 20 can be connected to the glasses 10 through the first communication module 11.
[0019] Specifically, the first communication module 11 can be a 3G communication module, a 4G communication module, or a 5G communication module. The first communication module 11 is provided in the glasses 10 so that the user can connect to the WIFI sent by the routing device in the home through the first communication module 11, so that the first communication module 11 can access the network connected to the voiceprint recognition server 20 and establish a communication connection between the glasses 10 and the voiceprint recognition server 20.
[0020] The sound collection module 30 may be a microphone for collecting sound. When the user initially configures the glasses 10 or searches for the glasses 10, the user needs to shout the glasses search sound to the sound collection module 30 so that the sound collection module 30 can collect the corresponding glasses search sound. After collecting the glasses search sound, the sound collection module 30 sends the glasses search sound to the voiceprint recognition server 20 for recognition. It is understandable that the sound collection module 30 will also collect other noises in the environment and send these noises to the voiceprint recognition server 20. Since the voiceprint recognition server 20 only recognizes specific sentences, such as the glasses search sound, these noises will not be processed.
[0021] The voiceprint recognition server 20 can use the sparse autoencoder algorithm in deep learning to train the glasses search sounds emitted by multiple glasses users. For example, the glasses search sound emitted by each user is used as the preset training data, and each user sends multiple preset training data, and the classification label corresponding to each pre-training data is the connection information corresponding to the first communication module. The glasses search sound can be the sound collected when the user says "glasses, glasses, where are you?". In the process of training the preset training data, the voiceprint recognition server 20 obtains the voiceprint features of each user, and performs speech recognition accordingly, so as to construct a voiceprint recognition model, that is, the voiceprint recognition model needs to identify the voiceprint features and the speech content, and based on the voiceprint features and the speech content, identify whether a voice message has a corresponding connection information classification. In other words, the voiceprint recognition server 20 associates the glasses search sound with the connection information of the first communication module 11 corresponding to the glasses 10 by using the connection information as the classification label, so that when the user needs to find the glasses 10, he only needs to send the glasses search sound. When the voiceprint recognition server 20 recognizes the glasses searching sound, it can identify the connection information corresponding to the glasses searching sound, and then find the first communication module 11 according to the connection information, and finally send a prompt instruction to the prompt module 12 through the first communication module 11.
[0022] After receiving the prompt instruction sent by the voiceprint recognition server 20, the prompt module 12 issues a prompt sound. Specifically, the prompt sound may be "I am here". Of course, the prompt module 12 may vibrate or emit light while issuing the prompt sound. Such a design may help the user to quickly find the glasses 10.
[0023] The battery module 13 is disposed in the glasses 10 and connected to the prompt module 12 and the first communication module 11 to provide power to the prompt module 12 and the first communication module 11. The battery module 13 can support wireless charging, has a relatively simple design, does not increase the weight of the glasses 10, and is convenient for users to charge it.
[0024] In the specific implementation process, it also includes a second communication module, which is integrated in the glasses 10 and connected to the first communication module 11. The second communication module is used to communicate with the control terminal, and the control terminal is connected to the voiceprint recognition server 20; the second communication module is used to obtain the network account and network password input by the control terminal when communicating with the control terminal, so that the glasses 10 are connected to the voiceprint recognition server 20 through the first communication module 11 according to the network account and network password.
[0025] like Figure 2 As shown, in this embodiment, the second communication module and the control terminal 40 play a relatively important role in establishing the connection between the first communication module 11 and the voiceprint recognition server 20. Specifically, the control terminal 40 can be a terminal device such as a smart phone, a tablet or a laptop computer carried by the user, and the control terminal 40 and the voiceprint recognition server 20 are connected to the same network. The second communication module is integrated in the glasses 10 and connected to the first communication module 11. When the second communication module communicates with the control terminal 40, the network account and network password entered by the user in the control terminal 40 are obtained. It can be understood that the network account and network password are the network account and network password corresponding to the network accessed by the control terminal 40. For example, when a mobile phone connects to the WIFI network sent by the routing device in the home, the corresponding WIFI account and WIFI password need to be entered to connect to the WIFI network. After obtaining the network account and network password, the second communication module sends the network account and network password to the first communication module 11, so that the glasses 10 can be connected to the voiceprint recognition server 20 through the first communication module 11 according to the network account and network password.
[0026] During the specific implementation process, the sound collection module 30 is integrated into the control terminal 40, and the second communication module records the connection information of the first communication module 11; the second communication module is used to provide connection information when communicating with the control terminal 40, so that the control terminal 40 can read the connection information and collect the glasses to search for sound in the initial configuration state, and associate the glasses search sound with the corresponding connection information and send it to the voiceprint recognition server 20.
[0027] In actual applications, the glasses search sound can be collected through a control terminal 40 such as a mobile phone, a tablet or a laptop. Taking a mobile phone as an example, users generally carry a mobile phone with them, and it is also convenient to find the glasses 10 through a mobile phone. The mobile phone will be integrated with a sound collection module 30 for collecting sound. When the second communication module establishes a connection with the mobile phone, the second communication module can provide the recorded connection information of the first communication module 11 to the mobile phone. When the glasses 10 are initially configured, the user can make a glasses search sound "glasses, glasses, where are you" to the mobile phone. Since the mobile phone can receive the connection information and the user's corresponding glasses search sound at the same time, the connection information and the corresponding glasses search sound can be associated and sent to the voiceprint recognition server 20. The glasses search sounds received by the voiceprint recognition server 20 all correspond to the connection information. When the user needs to find the glasses 10, he only needs to make a glasses search sound to the sound collection module 30, that is, the microphone on the mobile phone. The voiceprint recognition server 20 can identify the connection information based on the sound searched by the glasses, and further determine which glasses 10 the first communication module 11 of the connection information belongs to, thereby sending a prompt instruction to the prompt module 12 through the first communication module 11 corresponding to the connection information.
[0028] In a specific implementation process, the second communication module is a Bluetooth module or an NFC module.
[0029] In actual applications, the second communication module can be a Bluetooth module. The Bluetooth module and the control terminal 40 can establish a wireless communication connection within a short distance. For example, when the Bluetooth module is in a disconnected state, it will continuously send out broadcast information, which carries its own name so that the control terminal 40 can search for itself. When the user needs to perform initial configuration on the glasses 10, the control terminal 40 needs to turn on its own Bluetooth function so that it can receive the broadcast information sent by the Bluetooth module in the glasses 10. When the control terminal 40 receives an operation to confirm the connection, it can establish a connection with the Bluetooth module. After the connection is established, the Bluetooth module can receive the network account and network password entered by the user in the control terminal 40, so that the glasses 10 can be connected to the voiceprint recognition server 20 through the first communication module 11 according to the network account and network password.
[0030] In practical applications, the second communication module can also be an NFC module. Taking the mobile phone as an example of the control terminal 40, all current mobile phones are equipped with NFC function. NFC (Near Field Communication) is an emerging technology. Devices using NFC technology can exchange data when they are close to each other. It is evolved from the integration of contactless radio frequency identification (RFID) and interconnection technology. By integrating the functions of inductive card reader, inductive card and point-to-point communication on a single chip, mobile terminals are used to realize mobile payment, electronic ticketing, access control, mobile identity recognition, anti-counterfeiting and other applications. Specifically, when an ID card or a bus card is close to a mobile phone, the mobile phone can read the information of the corresponding ID card or bus card. The NFC module in this embodiment can communicate when it is close to the mobile phone. For example, when the user brings the glasses 10 close to the mobile phone, the mobile phone can read the information of the NFC module, and the NFC module can also obtain the information entered in the mobile phone.
[0031] In a specific implementation process, the sound collection module 30 is integrated into the glasses 10 , and the sound collection module 30 is connected to the voiceprint recognition server 20 through the first communication module 11 .
[0032] The sound collection module 30 is integrated in the glasses 10. When the user needs to perform initial configuration on the glasses 10, he only needs to shout the glasses search sound to the glasses 10. Since the sound collection module 30 is connected to the voiceprint recognition server 20 through the first communication module 11, after the sound collection module 30 collects the glasses search sound, the glasses search sound can be sent to the voiceprint recognition server 20 through the first communication module 11. It can be understood that since the sound collection module 30 is integrated in the glasses 10 and connected to the first communication module 11, the glasses search sound received by the voiceprint recognition server 20 carries the connection information of the first communication module 11, so that different glasses search sounds can be associated with the corresponding connection information of the first communication module 11.
[0033] In the specific implementation process, it also includes a sensing module, which is connected to the sound collection module 30 and the first communication module 11; the sensing module is used to turn off the sound collection module 30 and the first communication module 11 when it senses that the glasses 10 are in a wearing state.
[0034] Since the sound collection module 30 in the glasses 10 can always collect the noise in the environment, and the first communication module 11 is always in a communication state, the glasses 10 consume a lot of power. Based on this, the present embodiment sets a sensing module in the glasses 10, and the sensing module in the present embodiment can be an infrared sensor. The infrared sensor can measure the thermal image of the human body surface temperature, and thus take corresponding control operations according to the sensed thermal image. Specifically, such as the application of infrared sensors on faucets, when the user's hand is close to the faucet, the infrared sensor can sense the thermal image and then control the water out of the faucet. In the present embodiment, the infrared sensor is integrated in the glasses 10. When the user wears the glasses 10, since the glasses 10 are close to the face, the infrared sensor can sense the thermal image, thereby turning off the sound collection module 30 and the first communication module 11, so that the sound collection module 30 and the first communication module 11 will not always be in operation. This design can avoid the glasses 10 from consuming a lot of power. In addition, if Figure 3 As shown, the sensing module can be arranged in the temple 103 of the glasses 10. Since the temple 103 of the glasses 10 fits closely to the human face, arranging the sensing module in the temple 103 of the glasses 10 can improve the sensing accuracy of the sensing module.
[0035] In a specific implementation process, the sound collection module 30 is disposed on the nose bridge support 101 of the glasses 10 .
[0036] like Figure 3 As shown, in actual application, when a user wears the glasses 10, they usually touch the temples 103 more and rarely touch the nose bridge support 101. Therefore, setting the sound collection module 30 on the nose bridge support 101 of the glasses 10 can facilitate the user to hold the glasses 10 and emit the glasses search sound corresponding to the glasses 10, thereby avoiding the user's hand covering the sound collection module 30, resulting in the sound collection module 30 being unable to collect a clear glasses search sound. It can be understood that the prompt module 12 and the first communication module 11 in this embodiment can be set in the left and right nose pads 104 in the glasses 10.
[0037] In a specific implementation process, the battery module 13 is disposed in the foot cover 102 of the glasses 10 , and the shape of the battery module 13 is adapted to the shape of the foot cover 102 .
[0038] The area around the lens of the glasses 10 is generally heavier than the foot cover 102, and the shape of the foot cover 102 is relatively large, which is suitable for accommodating the battery module 13, so that the overall weight of the glasses 10 is relatively balanced, which is conducive to enhancing the comfort of the user. It is understandable that in this embodiment, the foot cover 102 of the glasses 10 can be set to be detachable. When charging is needed, the foot cover 102 is removed for charging. Of course, if the battery module 13 supports wireless charging, the foot cover 102 can be left unremoved and the foot cover 102 can be directly placed close to the charging pile for charging.
[0039] In a specific implementation process, the connection information is the MAC address of the first communication module 11 .
[0040] MAC address (Media Access Control Address) is also called LAN address, MAC address, Ethernet address or physical address. It is an address used to confirm the location of a network device. MAC address is used to uniquely identify a network card in the network. If a device has one or more network cards, each network card has a unique MAC address. Therefore, when the voiceprint recognition server 20 identifies the MAC address, it can determine the unique first communication module 11 based on the MAC address, and send a prompt instruction to the prompt module 12 through the first communication module 11.
[0041] In the specific implementation process, the prompt module 12 is used to output voice prompt information when multiple glasses search sounds are collected simultaneously in the initial configuration state.
[0042] In actual applications, different users may perform initial configuration of the glasses 10 at the same time. Therefore, the sound collection module 30 in the glasses 10 may collect multiple different glasses search sounds. The prompt module 12 in this embodiment can output voice reminder information to remind the user to re-collect when the sound collection module 30 collects multiple different glasses search sounds at the same time. Specifically, the reminder can be made by issuing voice messages such as "collection error", "please reconfigure" or "the environment is too noisy". Of course, the reminder can also be made by flashing lights.
[0043] The present application may take the form of a complete hardware embodiment, a complete software embodiment, or an embodiment combining software and hardware. Moreover, the present application may take the form of a computer program product implemented on one or more computer-usable storage media (including but not limited to disk storage, CD-ROM, optical storage, etc.) containing computer-usable program code. The present application is described with reference to the flowcharts and / or block diagrams of the methods, devices (systems), and computer program products according to the embodiments of the present application. It should be understood that each process and / or box in the flowchart and / or block diagram, as well as the combination of the processes and / or boxes in the flowchart and / or block diagram, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions can be provided to a processor of a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, an embedded processor, or other programmable data processing device to produce a machine, so that the instructions executed by the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing device generate instructions for implementing the functions in the process. Figure 1 A process or multiple processes and / or boxes Figure 1These computer program instructions can also be stored in a computer-readable memory that can guide a computer or other programmable data processing device to work in a specific way, so that the instructions stored in the computer-readable memory produce a product including an instruction device, which implements the functions specified in the process. Figure 1 A process or multiple processes and / or boxes Figure 1 These computer program instructions can also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing device, so that a series of operation steps are executed on the computer or other programmable device to produce a computer-implemented process, so that the instructions executed on the computer or other programmable device provide for implementing the process in the process. Figure 1 A process or multiple processes and / or boxes Figure 1 A step that specifies a function in one or more boxes.
[0044] In a typical configuration, a computing device includes one or more processors (CPU), input / output interfaces, network interfaces, and memory. The memory may include non-permanent memory in a computer-readable medium, random access memory (RAM) and / or non-volatile memory in the form of read-only memory (ROM) or flash RAM. The memory is an example of a computer-readable medium.
[0045] Computer readable media include permanent and non-permanent, removable and non-removable media that can be implemented by any method or technology to store information. Information can be computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules or other data. Examples of computer storage media include, but are not limited to, phase change memory (PRAM), static random access memory (SRAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), other types of random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory or other memory technology, compact disk read-only memory (CD-ROM), digital versatile disk (DVD) or other optical storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices or any other non-transmission media that can be used to store information that can be accessed by a computing device. As defined herein, computer readable media does not include temporary computer readable media (transitory media), such as modulated data signals and carrier waves.
[0046] It should also be noted that the terms "include", "comprises" or any other variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, so that a process, method, commodity or device including a series of elements includes not only those elements, but also other elements not explicitly listed, or also includes elements inherent to such process, method, commodity or device. In the absence of more restrictions, the elements defined by the sentence "comprises a ..." do not exclude the existence of other identical elements in the process, method, commodity or device including the elements.
[0047] Note that the above are only preferred embodiments of the present invention and the technical principles used. Those skilled in the art will understand that the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments herein, and that various obvious changes, readjustments and substitutions can be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of protection of the present invention. Therefore, although the present invention has been described in more detail through the above embodiments, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and may include more other equivalent embodiments without departing from the concept of the present invention, and the scope of the present invention is determined by the scope of the appended claims.
Claims
1. A glasses tracking system, characterized in that: The glasses include glasses, a sound collection module and a voiceprint recognition server, wherein the glasses include a prompt module, a first communication module, a battery module and a second communication module, wherein the prompt module and the first communication module are both connected to the battery module, and the prompt module is connected to the first communication module; the glasses are connected to the voiceprint recognition server via the first communication module, and the sound collection module is connected to the voiceprint recognition server; The sound collection module is used to collect sound data and send the collected sound data to the voiceprint recognition server; The voiceprint recognition server is used to identify the connection information of the sound data according to the pre-trained voiceprint recognition model, and after successful identification, send a prompt instruction to the prompt module through the corresponding first communication module according to the identified connection information, the voiceprint recognition model is obtained by training preset training data, the data content of each preset training data is a glasses search sound corresponding to the glasses user, and the classification label is the connection information corresponding to the first communication module; The prompt module is used to issue a prompt sound after receiving the prompt instruction; The second communication module is integrated in the glasses, the second communication module is connected to the first communication module, the second communication module is used to communicate with the control terminal, and the control terminal is connected to the voiceprint recognition server; the second communication module is used to obtain the network account and network password input by the control terminal when communicating with the control terminal, so that the glasses can be connected to the voiceprint recognition server through the first communication module according to the network account and the network password.
2. The glasses tracking system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The sound collection module is integrated in the control terminal, and the second communication module records the connection information of the first communication module; The second communication module is used to provide the connection information when communicating with the control terminal, so that the control terminal can read the connection information and collect the glasses search sound in the initial configuration state, and associate the glasses search sound with the corresponding connection information and send it to the voiceprint recognition server.
3. The glasses tracking system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The second communication module is a Bluetooth module or an NFC module.
4. The glasses tracking system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The sound collection module is integrated in the glasses, and the sound collection module is connected to the voiceprint recognition server through the first communication module.
5. The glasses tracking system according to claim 4, characterized in that: It also includes a sensing module, which is connected to the sound collection module and the first communication module; The sensing module is used to turn off the sound collection module and the first communication module when sensing that the glasses are in a wearing state.
6. The glasses tracking system according to claim 4, characterized in that: The sound collection module is arranged on the nose bridge support of the glasses.
7. The glasses tracking system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The battery module is arranged in the foot cover of the glasses, and the shape of the battery module is adapted to the shape of the foot cover.
8. The glasses tracking system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The connection information is the MAC address of the first communication module.
9. The glasses tracking system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The prompt module is used to output voice prompt information when multiple glasses search sounds are collected simultaneously in the initial configuration state.
